Sports

LaRue loves life at UMass

For as long as he can remember, Zack LaRue's hockey dreams have included two possible outcomes.

The Sault Ste. Marie native wanted to play for either his hometown Soo Greyhounds, or for a top collegiate team south of the border.

And while skating for the Ontario Hockey League Hounds would have been great, the 21-year-old has absolutely no regrets when it comes to fate, and where it's taken him.

LaRue is a freshman right-winger at the University of Massachusetts, a Division I school in Amherst, Mass., which competes in the prestigious Hockey East conference.

A full scholarship athlete for the Minutemen, the six-foot-one, 190-pounder can't help but pinch himself when he thinks about where the sport he loves has taken him.

"I love being here. The atmosphere is great and I know by playing here I'm getting better," said LaRue, who played one season for the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League's (NOJHL) Soo Thunderbirds before spending back-to-back seasons skating for the Markham Waxers of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League (OPJHL). "It's an honour to play for this school and in this league. I'm loving it."

As a member of the 2008-2009 T-Birds, LaRue, a power forward who combines physical play with speed, produced 33 goals and 32 assists in 50 games.

A year later, he played his first season in Markham, scoring 13 times and helping set up 31 others in 49 starts.

Last season, back-to-back strong performances in the OPJHL's Showcase Tournament earned LaRue attention from a number of schools, including UMass.

"They started watching me regularly," he said of the Minutemen, who eventually offered LaRue a full ride.

He went on to score 33 times and help set up 36 others in 50 games for the 2010-2011 Waxers.

"I love that I'm playing for a big school. It's something I've always wanted," he added. "They treat us like kings here."

Used to playing a starring role on the teams he's skated for, LaRue has had to adjust to the up-and-down life of a first-year collegian.

He typically dresses for every second game.

To date, LaRue has one assist in eight starts for a young club that owns a 4-7-3 mark overall and a 2-6-3 record against Hockey East opponents.

He realizes earning consistent minutes "is going to take time."

And he's determined to do so through hard work.

"I know the coaches notice when you work hard," LaRue said. "They work with me and I can totally see an improvement in my skating, stick-handling and poise with the puck. I'm just trying to earn as much ice time as I can."

The pace of the game is the biggest change LaRue has noticed from his OPJHL days.

The time available to make a play is often fleeting.

"You need to read and react right away," he said. "You've got a split second to do something and if you don't, the other team will make you pay."

The Minutemen return to action Friday when they play host to Harvard.

Home for the team is the Mullins Center and LaRue says the fan support is impressive.

"I'd never played in front of more than 300 people," he noted. "But here, we get close to 8,000 a game. It's unbelievable the way they cheer for us. It really motivates you."

One of the early highlights for LaRue was helping the Minutemen defeat Boston College, then ranked No. 1 in the United States, 4-2 on Nov. 5.

"It was B.C.'s first loss of the year and to be part of that game was special," he said.

Another highlight was when his parents, Mark and Lori LaRue, traveled to Massachusetts in late October to take in a home-and-home series between UMass and Boston University.

"I know they're proud of me," Zack said. "They've supported me in hockey ever since I could skate. This scholarship is not only for me, but for them as well."

With 14 sophomores and six freshman on its roster, UMass is in a rebuilding phase.

LaRue sees a lot of promise for the team's future and, individually, he's determined to take hockey as far as possible.

Having yet to decide on a major, he says education is his No. 1 priority.